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*** Getting to Mitchell Theater: Mitchell Theater is a located in the basement of Mitchell Hall. To enter Mitchell Theater, enter Mitchell Hall through the 19th street entrance for 7-Eleven – the theater entrance is on the right immediately after walking in. ***

Summary

Pathways in Impact Investing is the second in a three part series on impact investing that explores a range of career paths in this dynamic and evolving industry.

Impact Investing has become an extremely popular sector, providing both a stable career and an opportunity to make an impact. This relatively new field of impact is attracting young professionals all over the world and you could be one of them.

When considering a career in impact investing it is important to think about where you can make the greatest impact. Think about what interests you - whether it is a specific environmental or social issue or a country, region, or community in need. It's also important to think about the kind role you would like to play in this growing ecosystem and the ways in which you can leverage your previous experience to gain a foothold in the industry.

This panel and breakouts will explore a diverse range of career paths in the impact investing industry - from investment analysis and dealflow. to opperations and impact management. Panelists will share their stories and strategies, as well as, field questions and share tips in brief, but intimate breakout sessions.

Thank you to the following contributors for sharing their industry insights:

Kathrine St. Onge

Katherine St. Onge is Director of Syndications and Institutional Partnerships at Calvert Impact Capital. She helps institutions structure fixed-income investments to support Calvert Impact Capital and the mission-driven organizations within CIC's portfolio, through a variety of investments including subordinated debt, the Community Investment Note and syndication transactions.

Prior to Calvert Impact Capital, Katherine worked at the Aspen Institute where she focused on building entrepreneurial and early-stage investment ecosystems in the Middle East and North Africa. She also worked for Louisiana Economic Development, crafting policies and strategies to enhance the state’s economic competitiveness, and Goldman Sachs, managing both equity and fixed-income investment products.

She received her Bachelor’s Degree in economics and mathematics from Bucknell University and her M.B.A. from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.

Chuck Redmond

Chuck Redmond

Chuck Redmond is the VP of Finance and Operations at VPP. He is responsible for managing all business support functions and assists with setting strategy and tracking the organization’s progress. Prior to joining VPP, Chuck worked as a strategist with the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation helping them to develop a sustainable financial strategy. He began his career working as a consultant at McKinsey & Company where he supported clients on a range of topics from corporate finance to organizational health. While at McKinsey, Chuck co-founded the DC Social Impact Group which provides pro bono consulting services to nonprofits and social enterprises in the Greater Washington area.

Chuck holds a JD from Harvard Law School and a Bachelors in International Business and Finance from the University of South Carolina.

Dipa Sharif

Dipa is an impact investment consultant with 14 years of experience in the project finance, project management and environmental sectors in both the domestic and international space. She currently works for clients such as WaterEquity and Millennium Challenge Corporation. Previously, she specialized in the Social Impact Bond market at Quantified Ventures (QV), an impact investment advisory firm specializing in the Pay-for-Success market.Prior to QV, Dipa was consulting for Dalberg Capital where she supported the creation of an education loan facility in Sub-Saharan Africa that would utilize alternative credit scores.

Dipa started off her career path in the mortgage and asset-backed securities sectors at UBS Investment Bank and Freddie Mac. She earned her BBA from the George Washington University and MBA from New York University. Dipa also completed the Executive Program in Social Impact Strategy from the University of Pennsylvania’s School of Social Policy and Practice.

Rayanne Hawkins

Rayanne is currently the Business Operations Manager for the Pay for Success Initiative at the Urban Institute where she creates and manages the Pay for Success Initiative budget, oversees operational aspects of program implementation, and hosts an online support center for pay for success technical assistance.

Her MBA focus was the study of alternative funding for social impact which includes financing public infrastructure projects, as well as social programs. Through her MBA studies she has developed a business plan for a workforce development social enterprise in Southeast, DC as well as assisted the government of Peru's national investment agency, ProInversión, with a public private partnership marketing plan.

John Stroud

A former senior executive at Greenworks Lending and Lehman Brothers, he maintains a particular expertise in optimizing the financial performance of income-generating assets. John advises institutional and high net worth private clients on identifying, vetting and incorporating impact and mission-related investments into their broader portfolios.

His work has included the hands-on creation of demand-side efficiencies as well as on-site clean energy generation in the building industry with specific emphasis on commercial, industrial and multi-family properties. John has spoken extensively to the built and investment communities on the benefits of incorporating environmental and social metrics into broader, strategic decision-making .

He received his undergrad degree from James Madison University, his MBA from The McDonough School of Business and has completed post-graduate work in sustainability at Harvard Business School.

Darren Miao

Darren headshot

As the Director of the Impact Investing and Renewable Energy expertise areas at Resonance, Darren develops and leads opportunity identification and evaluation, capital raising and transaction advisory services, and investment structuring for public and private sector clients.

Darren brings more than 15 years of experience in the impact investing and social enterprise sectors. Prior to joining Resonance, he was the Managing Director of RiverGen, an Indonesian mini-hydro development company, which he co-founded in 2012 after raising $30 million to develop a 50-megawatt portfolio. He previously worked at a London-based microfinance private equity fund as the Asia Investment Officer, as well as at Kiva, the first online peer-to-peer microfinance lending platform. At Kiva, he was responsible for growing and managing the organization’s network of microfinance partners in the Asia-Pacific Region. Darren also brings four years of experience from social enterprise–consulting firm Community Wealth Partners, where he assisted numerous nonprofits in launching profitable business ventures and corporate partnerships.

Darren holds a master of business administration from the Haas School of Business at UC Berkeley and a bachelor’s degree from Duke University.